July Blog
Kala Sangam’s July Blog
Welcome to the July edition of the Kala Sangam Blog!
Capital Update
Our capital project has continued at full speed this month, with nearly 100% of the demolition and strip out completed on site – lots of walls you will remember are no longer there anymore and the old main staircase you used to use to get to our reception has been removed entirely! Outside, thanks to our brilliant neighbours at Bradford Cathedral, hoardings are now up all round the building, ready for some special artwork to appear soon.
Alex in Italy
At Kala Sangam, we take supporting artists seriously… if even that means sometimes we have to go to Italy to do it!
Marketing and Programme Manager Alex Corwin recently headed to Italy to visit our Associate Company, Mobius Dance as they shared the progress of their new work, The Long Summer Day.
Mobius’ Gianluca and Fabiano have turned their home near Salerno in to a unique space where they can work with dancers and creatives to build safe, supported connections and develop new work, making the most of being able to work outdoors. This piece is centred on the LGBTQIA+ experience and infused with the sounds, sights and feelings of being in this stunning setting.
Dancers JJ, Rachel, Miles and Naomi have been working with Gianluca and Fabiano for 3 weeks to create The Long Summer Day and will be coming to Kala Sangam in the autumn to explore how to bring the warmth and beauty of the Italian summer to stages in the UK.
Thanks Gianluca and Fabiano for the invitation. It was amazing to experience the space you have created and get a taste of the beautiful work you are making there. The delicious food and sneaky beach trip was pretty good too…
What Have Our Staff Been Up To
Phil loves going on walks when he’s not at Kala Sangam. The main places he has been to this month are Stoodley Pike, Hebden Bridge and the waterfall walk at Askrigg, near Hawes. Once he has done all of these, he goes on local walks around Shipley, Baildon and Bingley. He loves taking photos of nature and all the animals he sees on his walks.
Alex Croft saw AC/DC and Idles, two of his favourite bands, live in the same week this month! To recover he headed to the coast with his family for a holiday – the weather in Filey was great but the sea was freezing!
This month Haider and his group Toothless Films won their first award at a music festival in Sheffield called 2weeks2makeit for the film ‘Paper Rounds’ He has also been part of the Forge Film Project by Bradford 2025. He attended all the workshops which were led by industry professionals and was invited on by Evie manning, who got accepted onto forge which allowed him to assist and attend most of the workshops and help Evie make her film.
Steve had a weekend break in London. He and his family saw the new Abba Voyage ‘live’ concert in Stratford, close to the Olympic village – hit after hit! They also took a river boat trip out to Greenwich and saw the Cutty Sark. They loved the street food and market stalls, and even managed to find another edition to add to his growing Ladybird book collection. He still get a buzz out of visiting London, just as he did on his first trip with school – almost 50 years ago!
Arts and Heritage Update
Claire from Kala Sangam
Most of Kala Sangam’s groups have completed the “Getting to Know You” part of their Arts and Heritage Project and are moving on to Artistic Taster sessions. This is an exciting stage where the groups get to choose the artistic forms they want to try to express themselves through – this could be absolutely anything from painting and drawing, to dance and music! There will also be some freelance artists joining us to lead some sessions! So far the art forms tried have been pottery and acrylic painting so it’s exciting to see what will be chosen next….
Lauren from Keighley Creative
This July I had some great sessions with the One In A Million youth group in Bracken Bank, where we experimented in a few different art forms such as collaging, zine-making and painting. The themes of the sessions were all based around storytelling and sharing personal stories/facts about themselves to help them understand their personal heritage stories a bit more.
I also kicked off the K-Town Cart outdoor workshop series in Long Lee, working with Emily Parkin and Molly Naylor, to deliver an embroidery workshop the public! Each participant was given a small square of fabric to embroider with their own design, as we facilitated a discussion around heritage. The series of workshops will culminate with combining these individual fabric squares into one big Keighley-made community quilt!
Tenant Update
On Wednesday 10th July Dance United Yorkshire were visited by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin. Tracy Came to see our Women’s Company in action, rehearsing for their upcoming performance on Sunday 14th July ‘Look Up’ Inspired by Banksy’s ‘Coloured Rain’.
The piece explores two different perspectives on life: “you can choose to focus on the darkness, or you can choose to focus on the light.” As we grow older, we tend to get caught up in the stress and pressure of everyday life. We forget what childhood freedom and innocence feels like. Despite the responsibilities of being an adult, can we go back to dancing in the rain?
Tracy and the women sat together at the end of the session to discuss the impact contemporary dance has had on their lives. The improvement in mental and physical well-being and confidence building. The women opened up about their personal journeys and how the Women’s Company has become a family for them.
We are so grateful that Tracy came to visit and see the work we do at DUY.
Who Has Been In Our Space
Bradford-based dance-theatre artist Zoe Katsilerou and performance maker Hannah Butterfield have been using the Kala Sangam studio to further develop their new duet GRATEFUL. This work is a physical and vocal exploration of personal almost invisible moments of the performers’ journey of motherhood. Through choreography, live song and autobiographical text, GRATEFUL aims to expose the lack of cultural and structural support for mothers, and to highlight the necessity for a shift in our relationships with care. This work is created for mothers, carers and those who have received care, and welcomes audiences of families and children.
Alongside the performance, GRATEFUL offers community engagement workshops for young carers and displaced mothers. It is Zoe’s and Hannah’s hope that these will continue to inform the performance which will remain flexible and will adapt to each context.
It’s been wonderful to develop this new work at Kala Sangam in their beautiful temporary space right in the heart of the city.
As well as by Kala Sangam, GRATEFUL has been supported by BOLD! and Bradford Producing Hub through their Explore fund. This support has ensured that Hannah and Zoe have laid strong foundations for this formidable duet which will begin touring in the autumn. To access the tour pack visit Zoe’s website.
For more information on Zoe’s work visit https://zoekatsilerou.com/ or her Instagram @zoekatsilerou
Freelance Artists Call Out
We are looking to build up a pool of freelance artists and organisations to work with us on our Community and Education projects!
As well as our year round programme of activities with schools (including our annual Schools Takeover Weeks), we are looking for people to deliver workshops and creative projects as part of our Arts and Heritage project.
The Arts and Heritage project is a partnership between Kala Sangam, Keighley Creative, Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company and South Square Centre. Each hub has a dedicated Arts and Heritage Officer, who is working directly with communities to build programmes of activities inspired by their heritages.
Check out more information here – https://www.kalasangam.org/work-with-us/
Volunteer Call Out
The Arts and Heritage project is a partnership between Kala Sangam, Keighley Creative, Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company and South Square Centre. Each hub has a dedicated Arts and Heritage Officer, who is working directly with communities to build programmes of activities inspired by their heritages.
As the groups explore their heritage and culture, we are looking for volunteers to support the delivery of workshops throughout the duration of the project, this may involve setting up, supporting participants throughout and if applicable leading sessions, admin (filling out forms, registers etc) shadowing, meeting with diverse community groups.
The type of workshop and artforms used will be led by what the groups want to do.
Benefits:
- You will develop your confidence and life skills.
- The opportunity to meet and work alongside four arts organisations
- The opportunity to work alongside or with professional freelance artists
- Work related learning that will support your CV and career development, including the opportunity to self-direct your placement experience
- A commitment to provide you with a reference
- A certificate or letter that charts the number of hours volunteering and supporting our organisation.
If you are interested in being involved, please contact Amer on amer@kalasangam.org or give her a call on 07512 328372
Socials Highlight
This month on out socials we announced that we are now taking bookings for September onwards at Bank House! Check out what we have to offer by visiting our website or emailing our Head of Commercial at steveoconnell@kalasangam.org
Classes at Kala Sangam
Kathak: Saturdays (during term time) from 7th September | 10:00am – 11:00am | Age 5+ | Bank House, BD1 1RD
Join us at Bank House for a new dance class. This Kathak class is for all ages and abilities and will be delivered in partnership with Rhythmosaic.
Learn the rhythmic foot work, hand gestures and facial expressions of Kathak – a traditional, storytelling dance from Northern India. Click here for more information – https://www.kalasangam.org/kathak-dance-course/
Bollywood: Saturday | 11am – 12pm | Age 16+ | £60 for 10 sessions | Bank House, BD1 1RD
This vibrant and energetic class for adults is inspired by the sights and sounds of the world’s biggest film industry. Whether you want to learn a new style of dance, keep fit or participant in a fun class with a friend this Bollywood class is ideal for you. Click here for more information – https://www.kalasangam.org/classes/bollywood-dance/
